US7347838B2 - Needle tip protector - Google Patents

Abstract

A needle tip protector (10, 10′) including a pair of apertured members (28, 30 or28′, 30′) with spring arms (22, 24) urging the apertured members (28, 30 or28′, 30′) out of alignment to create a barrier to a needle tip (16). A needle gripping U-shaped clip (81) may also provide a needle tip protector (80).

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/544,843, filed Feb. 13, 2004, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to medical needles and, more particularly, to devices for protecting against the sharp tip of the needle.

DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART

Needles (to include all sharp-tipped cannulae) are used throughout the medical profession for a variety of medical procedures. For example, hypodermic needles are used with syringes to administer fluids and/or medications to patients and to withdraw fluids from patients. Similarly, sharp-tipped cannula are used to insert catheters into patients for various medical purposes. An intravenous catheter may typically include a sharp-tipped needle cannula with its shaft extending through the catheter so that the sharp tip extends slightly beyond the distal end of the catheter. The other end of the needle is connected to a hub or other structure which is held by the healthcare worker during insertion. The needle hub is typically fitted into the catheter hub. The needle and catheter are inserted together into the patient until the catheter end is properly placed in the patient's blood vessel. The needle hub is pulled from the catheter hub to withdraw the needle, leaving the catheter in place in the patient for administration or withdrawal of fluids or other medically required procedures or purposes. But as with hypodermic needles, after use, the exposed sharp tip of the needle cannula presents a source of accidental needle-stick, which may cause injury or disease, such as by transmission of dangerous blood-borne pathogens.

A variety of different devices intended to enclose or otherwise shield the sharp needle tip have been developed in recognition of the need to reduce or eliminate accidental needle-sticks. While many of these devices provide advantages, further enhancements are desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides needle tip protectors which provide further enhancements over prior approaches. To this end, and in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a support is telescopingly received over the needle shaft and includes a pair of spring arms each supporting at its end an apertured member adapted to extend into the axis of the needle, with the members being normally urged by the spring arms into a position where the apertures thereof are out of alignment with the needle axis, but which are held in alignment when a needle shaft is extending through the apertures. Thus, when the needle shaft is retracted from the loaded position in which it is extending through the apertures to an unloaded position, the spring arms urge the apertured members out of alignment so as to create a barrier against moving the needle back into the loaded position.

In accordance with a different aspect of the present invention, needle gripping structure is provided to secure the needle in the unloaded position. In one embodiment, the needle shaft may include an irregularity defining an oversized portion near the sharp tip with the support having an aperture sized to prevent the irregularity from passing through the support when the needle moves from the loaded to the unloaded position. As a consequence, when the needle is pulled to the unloaded position, the tip end becomes trapped between the now-misaligned aperture members and the support. In still other embodiments, the needle gripping structure may be active, such as provided by an extension flange or projection which grips into a slot in the needle such as shown in European Patent No. 0 352 928 B2, a locking clip such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,482, or other mechanisms such as shown in aforesaid U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,482, or U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,458,658; 611,781; or 5,662,610. The disclosures of all of the foregoing U.S. and European patents are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

In a still further embodiment of the invention, the needle gripping structure may provide a needle tip protector in the form of a generally U-shaped clip having an aperture in each leg thereof for the needle shaft to pass easily therethrough when the clip is in a first state and to grip the needle shaft in a second state of the clip with one or both of the legs being angularly offset from the position the leg(s) held in the first state of the clip. The clip may be resilient so that it normally tends towards the second state. A trigger mechanism may be provided which cooperates with the needle shaft so as to hold the clip in the first state when the needle is in the loaded state and to release the clip when the needle releases from the trigger so as to allow the clip to go into the second state thereby to grip the needle. Cam structure may also be provided to assist in urging the clip leg(s) into the angular offset position to tighten the grip on the needle shaft as the needle shaft is moved while in the unloaded position. Advantageously, a surface of the cam is at an angle relative to a plane perpendicular to the needle shaft to facilitate such tightening of the grip.

In accordance with a yet further, different aspect of the present invention, the support may be defined by an aspect of a housing which telescopingly receives the needle. Further the needle gripping structure may be contained, at least in part, within the housing.

When the needle tip protector is to be used with a catheter, it is advantageous to have the needle tip protector remain affixed with the catheter hub until or with the needle being moved into the unloaded position. To this end, and in accordance with a still additional, different aspect of the present invention, features of the needle tip protector or its housing are urged against the interior surface of the catheter hub when the needle shaft is passing therethrough such as in the loaded state of the needle, and which are biased to move away from the catheter hub interior wall when the needle shaft is no longer passing therethrough so as to release from the catheter hub. In one embodiment, the apertured members could be held so as to have aspects thereof extend outwardly into the catheter hub interior wall, such as an annular recess therein, in the loaded position of the needle such that they are urged together when the needle departs the loaded state, so as to release from the catheter hub. In another embodiment, the apertured members may be held with a housing having resilient fingers extending therefrom and which have detents to engage the catheter hub interior wall when flexed apart by the needle shaft passing therethrough.

By virtue of the foregoing there are thus provided needle tip protectors which provide further enhancements over prior approaches. These and other objects and advantages of the present invention shall be made apparent from the accompanying drawings and the description thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the general description of the invention given above and the detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a needle tip protector of the present invention in the needle loaded state;

FIG. 2 is a view similar toFIG. 1 showing the needle tip protector ofFIG. 1 in the needle unloaded state and defining a barrier to the needle tip;

FIG. 3 is an axial cross-sectional view of the needle tip protector ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an axial cross-sectional view of the needle tip protector ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an axial cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of a needle tip protector of the present invention in the needle loaded state;

FIG. 6 is a view similar toFIG. 5 showing the needle tip protector ofFIG. 5 in the needle unloaded state and defining a barrier to the needle tip;

FIG. 7 is a partial, cross-sectional side view of the needle tip protector ofFIG. 6 associated with a catheter and affixed to the hub thereof in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a view similar toFIG. 7 showing release of the needle tip protector from the catheter hub;

FIG. 9 is a perspective, particularly cut-away view of the needle tip protector ofFIG. 1 with a housing;

FIG. 10 is a partial, cross-sectional side view of the needle tip protector and housing ofFIG. 9 with catheter hub engagement fingers shown held to a catheter hub in the needle loaded position;

FIG. 11 is a view similar toFIG. 10 showing the hub engagement fingers released from the catheter hub in the needle unloaded position;

FIG. 12 is an axial cross-sectional view of a third embodiment of a needle tip protector in accordance with the principles of the present invention in the needle loaded state; and

FIG. 13 is a view similar toFIG. 12 in the needle unloaded state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

With respect toFIGS. 1-4 there is shown afirst embodiment10 of a needle tip protector intended to cooperate with aneedle12 having ashaft14 extending from aneedle hub15, and asharp tip end16.Needle tip protector10 includes asupport member20 such as a wall or disk (or multiple, overlapping elements, not shown) having or defining anaperture22 telescopingly receivingshaft14 ofneedle12. A pair ofspring arms24,26 which may be wires, thin strips, or wide bands, extend fromsupport20 in a direction towardsharp tip16. A pair of aperturedmembers28,30 are connected to respective ones of thespring arms24 and26. Apertured members may be walls or other such structure, and may advantageously be in the form of circular discs as shown inFIG. 1.Members28 and30 each has arespective aperture32,34, such as a circular or other shaped hole, therein sized to receivetherethrough shaft14 ofneedle12.

Members28,30 may be pushed into alignment, such as by being urged radially inwardly relative to each other by an external force, so thatholes32 and34 thereof are in alignment with a common axis such as thelongitudinal axis36 ofneedle12. As so-aligned,needle shaft14 is telescopingly received throughsupport aperture22 andholes32,34 of aperturedmembers28,30 to define a loaded position ofneedle12 as shown inFIG. 1.Spring arms24,26 tend to urgedisks28 and30 apart so thatapertures32,34 try to move out of alignment fromcommon axis36. To this end, whenneedle14 is retracted (as indicated byarrow37 inFIG. 3) from the loaded position ofFIGS. 1 and 3 to an unloaded position, such as shown inFIGS. 2 and 4,shaft14 comes out ofaperture32, and possiblyaperture34 depending upon the design and the spacing betweenapertured members28 and30, so as to allow one or both of themembers28,30 to move radially outwardly (as exemplified byarrow38 inFIGS. 2 and 3) and out of the alignment withaxis36 ofneedle12. In the unloaded position,apertured members28,30 are out of alignment so as to provide a barrier against movingneedle tip16 back into the loaded position ofneedle12.

In order to limit misalignment ofapertured members28 and30 so, for example, they do not come too far apart and create a gap therebetween for re-emergence ofneedle tip16,members28 and30 may advantageously extend in a direction transverse or perpendicular to theaxis36 ofneedle shaft14 such that they define confrontingfaces40,42 each of which is provided with arespective ledge44,46 which are in opposed positions (FIGS. 3 and 4). As seen inFIG. 3, in the loaded position ofneedle12,ledges44 and46 may be spaced apart such as to either side ofneedle shaft14. However, withneedle12 moved to the unloaded position, shown by way of example inFIG. 4, one or both ofmembers28 and30 are free to move radially out of alignment due to the action ofspring arms24,26. However, the extent of outwardly radial movement is limited by theledges44,46 which cooperate such as by impacting against one another.

Whileapertured members28,30 oftip protector10 are shown as moving inwardly to align and outwardly to misalign, the opposite directions of movement could also be utilized. To this end, and with reference toFIGS. 5 and 6, it will be seen that analternative embodiment10′ of needle tip protector has aperturedmembers28′ and30′ withapertures32′ and34′ offset so as to be closer towardsedges48,49 thanedges50,51, the latter being near or where thespring arms24,26 attach.Members28′ and30′ may be disc-shaped such as ovoid or circular and are moved radially outwardly relative to each other so as to align theapertures32′,34′ forneedle12 to telescope therethrough in the loaded position as seen inFIG. 5.Spring arms24,26 urge themembers28′,30′ together (as indicated byarrow38′ inFIG. 5) such that whenneedle12 moves (as indicated byarrow37 inFIG. 5) out of the loaded position to an unloaded position, as shown by way of example inFIG. 6,apertured members28′ and30′ move radially inwardly relative to each other so as to go out of alignment withneedle axis36 and to thus provide the desired barrier to reemergence ofneedle tip16. Inembodiment10′, no ledges are required due to presence ofspring arm24 against whichmember30′ may impact, for example, although ledges could be provided.

A further aspect oftip protector10′ facilitates its use with acatheter52. In particular, and with reference toFIG. 7, it can be seen that in the loaded position ofneedle12, one or more ofedges50,51 ofmembers28′,30′ are urged against theinterior wall54 ofcatheter hub56, to grip thereat.Edges50,51 may additionally or alternatively be received into a recess58 (which may be annular) ofcatheter hub wall54.Edges50,51 may be the peripheral portions ofmembers28′,30′ or may be projecting elements attached thereto or formed thereon. As a consequence, in the loaded position ofneedle12 such as withneedle12 extending throughcatheter tube57 such thatneedle tip16 projects therefrom,tip protector10′ is within and held tocatheter hub56. Although not shown, it will be appreciated thatneedle hub15 may form part of, be attached to, or communicate into, a flashback chamber. Whenneedle12 is moved (in the direction ofarrow37 inFIG. 8) into the unloaded state, as seen inFIG. 8,members28′,30′ move radially inwardly so as to not only provide a barrier to re-emergence toneedle tip16, but also to come away fromcatheter hub wall54 thereby allowingtip protector10′ to easily come away fromcatheter hub56.

Shaft14 ofneedle12 may be provided with an irregularity62 (shown in dotted line inFIG. 8), such as a crimp, a bump or other projecting feature to define an oversized portion ofshaft14, neartip16.Aperture22 ofsupport member20 may be sized so as to preventirregularity62 from pressing therethrough such that in the unloaded position ofneedle12 as seen inFIG. 8, thetip end16 is captured betweenmembers28′30′ (ormembers28,30 whereprotector10 is used) andsupport member20. If theirregularity62 is present, it must be small enough to go throughapertures32′ and34′ but not so small as to go throughaperture22 insupport wall20. Further,apertures32′ and34′ (or32 and34) may need to have their openings shaped to help cam the irregularity into the aperture on withdrawal of the needle from the loaded state.

Alternatively or additionally, ahousing64 may be provided, withproximal wall66 thereof definingsupport member20 as seen inFIG. 9. Alternatively,spring arms22,24 could extend from thedistal wall68 ofhousing64, such thatwall68 definessupport20.Housing64 may be a cylindrical or other shaped plastic or metal structure which is designed to be telescopingly received overneedle shaft14 withneedle tip16 extending therefrom.Housing64 thus provides a cover toneedle tip16 withinprotector10, and toprotector10 to reduce the likelihood that aperturedmembers28,30 might be pushed back together and allow for re-emergence ofneedle tip16. Depending on size,housing64 may also be received incatheter hub56.Tip protector10 and10′ may be of metal and/or plastic. For example,members28,30 or28′,30′ andspring arms24,26 may be metal, andsupport member20 may be metal or may be plastic, especially ifhousing64 is formed of plastic.

Housing64 may be modified tohousing64′ as shown inFIG. 10 to includeresilient fingers70,72 extending fromdistal wall68 ofhousing64 and being normally biased radially inwardly such as to be urged together. Thearea74 defined betweenfingers70,72 is normally less than the diameter ofneedle shaft14, such that withshaft14 telescoped therethrough as seen inFIG. 10,fingers70,72 are held radially outwardly and against catheter hubinterior wall54 so as to holdhousing64 tocatheter hub56.Advantageously fingers70,72 each includedetents76 adapted to engage intorecess58 ofcatheter hub56 so as to improve the hold. Whenneedle12 is moved (in the direction ofarrow37 inFIG. 10) into the unloaded position as shown in dashed line inFIG. 1,needle shaft14 is no longer holdingfingers70 and72 fully apart, so they move back towards each other (as indicated byarrows77 inFIG. 11), releasing the hold oncatheter hub56, to thus allow for easy release fromcatheter hub56 upon further pulling ofneedle12 away fromcatheter hub56 as indicated byarrows78 inFIG. 11. The structure and operation offingers70,72 may be as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,599,310 the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.Housing64′ may be sized to includetip protector10 or10′ (onlyprotector10′ is shown, in dashed line, inFIGS. 10 and 11 for reference purposes) and to fit either within or outside ofcatheter hub56, the former when theapertured members28,30 or28′,30′ are also sized to fit withinhub56.

Needle tip16 may be held withinhousing64 or64′ due to an irregularity62 (seeFIG. 8).Housing64 or64′ may additionally, or alternatively, include therein structure to actively gripshaft14 ofneedle12, especially onceneedle12 has assumed the unloaded state. Some examples are an extension flange or projection which grips into a slot in the needle such as shown in European Pat. No. 0 352 928 B2, a locking clip such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,482, or other mechanisms such as shown in aforesaid U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,482, or U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,458,658; 611,781; or 5,662,610. Alternatively, and in accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, athird embodiment80 of a needle tip protector is provided by an active needle gripping structure in the form of aU-shaped clip81 as will now be described with reference toFIGS. 12 and 13. In particular,U-shaped clip81 includes a pair of legs orwall82,84 with ayoke86 extending therebetween. Also, formed in eachleg82,84 is anaperture87,88, respectively, which is intended to passshaft14 freely therethrough in a first or loaded position of theclip81 such as withlegs82,84 being generally vertically oriented or parallel to each other as seen inFIG. 12, and to otherwise grip the surface ofshaft14 when theclip81 is in a second or unloaded state as shown inFIG. 13, such as withlegs82,84 being angularly (advantageously outwardly in the direction ofarrows89 and89′ inFIG. 13) offset from the positions they had inFIG. 12.

Clip81 is advantageously a piece of resilient spring metal or shaped plastic such that it normally tends into the second state (FIG. 13), but can be bent or flexed into the first state seen inFIG. 12. The dual leg aspect ofclip81 provides an advantageous bi-directional grip onneedle shaft14 such thatclip81 may be sufficient to define a needle tip protector. To this end,clip81 may be contained withinhousing64, which may also be the housing to support theapertured members28,30 or28′,30′ (not shown inFIGS. 12 and 13), if desired. The proximal anddistal walls66,68 ofhousing64 each allowshaft14 to pass therethrough, but not clip80.

Atrigger mechanism90 may be provided forclip81. In particular,trigger mechanism90 has abase wall92 with afront retainer94 defining an aperture orslot96 therein sized to receiveneedle shaft14 therethrough in the needle loaded position ofFIG. 12. Withneedle shaft14 extending throughaperture96,base wall92 is held in fixed spaced relation toshaft14 such thatclip legs82,84 may be held in the first state betweenupstanding clip ledges100,102 ofbase wall92.Ledges100,102 may be defined by the end surfaces of cutout ordepression104 ofbase wall92. Whenneedle12 is moved in the direction of arrow37 (FIG. 12) to the unloaded position, such as shown inFIG. 13 by way of example,mechanism90 tilts or falls away (as indicated byarrow106 inFIG. 13) fromneedle shaft14, thereby releasinglegs82,84 so that they may take on the second position to gripshaft14. To facilitate a tilting action,trigger mechanism90 may be a resilient metal or plastic strip pivotally hinged toproximal wall66 ofhousing64 and biased thereby downwardly, and/or may include one or more springs (not shown) to provide the bias.

In the unloaded state, seen inFIG. 13, theneedle tip16 is held insidehousing64.Housing64 may be provided with one ormore cams110,112 positioned outwardly oflegs82,84. Eachcam110,112 cooperates to urgerespective legs82,84 ofclip81 into being further angularly offset in response to pushing or pulling ofneedle12. In particular, ifneedle12 is pulled to the right inFIG. 13,clip leg84 will bear againstsurface114 ofcam112 causingleg84 to attempt to pivot further outwardly in the direction ofarrow89′ to thus further enhance the grip ofleg84 onneedle shaft14 byleg84. Similarly, ifneedle12 is pushed to the left inFIG. 13,clip leg82 will bear againstsurface116 ofcam112 causingleg82 to attempt to pivot further outwardly in the direction ofarrow89 to thus further enhance the grip ofleg82 onneedle shaft14. To enhance the pivot tendency oflegs82,84,surfaces114 and116 may extend at an angle from a plane118 perpendicular to theneedle shaft14, with the angle matching the normal angular offset of the associatedclip leg82 or84 in the second state, by way of example.

Althoughclip81 is shown within a relativelyrigid housing64 which also advantageously housestrigger mechanism90, it will be appreciated that some portion or all of the containment and/or trigger mechanism forclip81 could be provided byprotector10, by way of example.

While the present invention has been illustrated by the description of embodiments thereof, and while the embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not intended to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. By way of example, in the case of use with acatheter52,tip protectors10 and10′ may be held tocatheter hub56 by directly (or indirectly viafingers70,72) interacting with theinterior wall54 ofhub56. Alternatively,tip protector10 or10′ could be held to catheter hub56 (directly or indirectly) by interaction with the exterior ofcatheter hub56. Additionally,support member20 and itsrelated aperture22 may serve to aligntip protector10 or10′ and/orhousing64, depending upon the overall thickness and aperture size defined bysupport member20. Further, a Teflon felt wiper (not shown) may be placed withinhousing64 to help contain blood (also not shown) which might find its way onto theneedle shaft14. The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and methods and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the scope or spirit of the general inventive concept.

Claims (9)

1. A needle tip protector comprising:

a needle having a shaft and a sharp tip end;

a support member telescoped over the needle shaft;

a pair of spring arms extending from the support in a direction toward the sharp tip end; and

a pair of apertured members each connected to a respective one of the pair of spring arms, the spring arms providing a bias to urge the apertured members out of alignment, the needle shaft extending through the apertures of the apertured members in a loaded position of the needle, such that when the needle is retracted from the loaded position to an unloaded position with the shaft removed from at least one of the apertures, the apertured members will be urged out of alignment to provide a baffier to the needle tip whereby to impede movement of the needle from the unloaded position to the loaded position, the apertured members being urged inwardly relative to each other by the spring arms.

2. The needle tip protector ofclaim 1, the apertured members each comprising a disc-shaped element.

3. The needle tip protector ofclaim 1, the apertured members each being held to extend generally transverse to the needle.

4. The needle tip protector ofclaim 1, each apertured member including a face confronting the other apertured member.

5. The needle tip protector ofclaim 1, further comprising a catheter hub receiving the apertured members, the apertured members being urged against an interior wall of the catheter hub in the loaded position of the needle such that the apertured members move away from the catheter hub interior wall when the needle is retracted from the loaded position.

6. The needle tip protector ofclaim 1 further comprising a housing telescoped over the needle shaft, the support being defined by a portion of the housing.

7. The needle tip protector ofclaim 6 further comprising needle gripping structure within the housing.

8. The needle tip protector ofclaim 6, wherein the needle shaft includes an irregularity, the housing having aperture sized to prevent passage of the needle shaft irregularity therethrough.

9. The needle tip protector ofclaim 1 wherein the needle shaft includes an irregularity, the support member defining an aperture sized to prevent passage of the needle shaft irregularity therethrough.

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